British by Descent - Passport for child born in Thailand

[timbothaivisa]

I've just discovered that I'm not as British as I'd assumed. Being born to British parents I thought I could pass that along, but am learning otherwise.

 

This is quite a hard topic to research usefully, so hoping for 1st hand experience (or link to a previous topic).

I have the following

• child's birth cert
• wife's birth cert (Thai)
• my birth cert (British by Descent)
• my passport

 

I've also got an appointment with V4S set up for week after next, but worried I'll just burn the application fee on a rejection? Any tips appreciated from those with specific experience of a parent who cannot automatically pass on UK citizenship.

Edited October 7, 2019 by timbothaivisa
more specifics

[blackcab]

Importantly, where were you born and where was your child born?

[timbothaivisa]

As the headline says, my child was born in Thailand. I was also born overseas to British parents, giving me the inherited citizenship status known as "British by Descent". This status does not offer my child automatic British citizenship, thus why I posted this topic.

[blackcab]

The first thing to note is that there is no point attending Trendy. Your child is not eligible for a British passport as they are not a British citizen. Cancel the appointment and save yourself the application fee.

 

This is because as you are British by descent you can not pass your British nationality on to your children.

 

That's the bad news over with. The good news is that there are exceptions that can be made for children, so all is not lost. The main point to grasp is that your child is not a British citizen, but you can apply for citizenship for them while they are a child if you meet some criteria.

 

The most likely criteria would be if your child was born on or after 1 July 2006. Here is a direct quote from the government website:

 

If your British parent lived in the UK before you were born

You can apply if all of the following are true:

• you’re under 18
• your mother or father was a British citizen when you were born
• your British parent lived in the UK for at least 3 years before you were born
• your British parent did not spend more than 270 days outside the UK during those 3 years
• your British parent had a British mother or father who could pass on their citizenship to them

Your British parent’s mother or father could pass on their citizenship if they were one of the following:

• born or adopted in the UK
• given citizenship after applying for it in their own right (not based on having a British parent)
• working as a Crown servant when your parent was born (for example in the diplomatic service, overseas civil service or armed forces)

 

The burden will be on you to prove the above. If you apply without enough proof your application will be rejected and you will forfeit your application fee. The current fees are £1,031.20 so it's worth getting it right the first time.

 

Even if you do not fulfill the above criteria you have one last chance. If you can get permission to take your child to the UK and your child lives in the UK with you for 3 years, and if they are under 18 at the time of the application then they can apply for citizenship on that basis.

 

It's all explained in the link I supplied above.

 

Importantly, do not delay. Proof becomes harder to obtain as time passes, and application fees increase every year.

 

If you can give your child the gift of a second nationality the cost you pay now will be nothing compared to the benefits they might receive later on in life.

 

Good luck.

[timbothaivisa]

17 hours ago, blackcab said:

Cancel the appointment and save yourself the application fee.

Thanks for your advice and it reads much as I feared. I asked in my appointment application email what the situation was, but they didn't offer any detail.

So if I can't apply via V4S, how do I go about it? Do I mail the evidence & application direct to gov.uk? I can't seem to find any leads as to where to pick up the trail.

And yes, I'm determined to get full citizenship for my child ????

[brewsterbudgen]

Like you, I was not born in the UK.  I was born in Africa, as both my British parents were working there.  However, I came to the UK when I was a kid and I was registered as a British citizen when I was 8 years old.  Fortunately I still have the Registration certificate, and I was able to get a UK passport for my son who was born in Thailand.

 

Have you lived in the UK for a long time?  Were you ever registered as British?

[timbothaivisa]

34 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Have you lived in the UK for a long time?

Sure, I lived there all through my youth, paid taxes, served in the forces, owned property and voted. Never had any idea that my status wasn't the same as my parents. If I'd known I could have "upgraded" my status before my child was born and avoided all the hassle.

[blackcab]

7 hours ago, timbothaivisa said:

how do I go about it?

 

Start by reading this page. There is a green "Apply Now" button at the bottom of the page.

 

6 hours ago, timbothaivisa said:

If I'd known I could have "upgraded" my status before my child was b

 

This is a very complex area of law, but in my limited understanding I don't think you can change from "by descent" to "otherwise than by descent".

 

One solution would be to make sure your children are born in the UK. If they are, they would become "otherwise than by descent" (so if you are having any more children you know what to do).

 

If your child is granted UK citizenship after you apply, then the same thing applies to them: The easiest thing to do is make sure their children are born in the UK.

[timbothaivisa]

Thanks everyone, I randomly came across this slide-show, and yes it seems this issue is very complex.

I'll leave this here for others: